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ACCUMULATING (DIS)ADVANTAGE?
INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL AID PATHWAYS
OF LATINO STEM BACCALAUREATES
by
Lindsey Ellen Malcom
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EDUCATION)
August 2008
Copyright 2008 Lindsey Ellen Malcom

This study contributes to our understanding of the institutional and financial aid pathways traversed by Latina/o bachelor's degree holders in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and the relationships between those pathways and selected outcomes of interest. Using the sociological framework of cumulative advantage/disadvantage and the statistical techniques of latent class analysis (LCA) and propensity score matching (PSM), data from the 2003 National Survey of Recent College Graduates (NSRCG) enhanced with institutional information drawn from the College Board Survey of Colleges and Universities, Barron's Selectivity Index, and the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) were analyzed to describe the means through which Latina/o STEM baccalaureates accessed those degrees, characterize their college financing strategies and to understand how indebtedness, measured relative to typical levels of borrowing within the B.S. degree-granting institutional context, influences these students' decisions to attend graduate school. The analytical sample reflects those Latinas/os who earned a bachelor's degree in a STEM field during the 2000-01 or 2001-02 academic years from a postsecondary institution in the mainland United States.; Three primary conclusions can be drawn from this study. First, there is an association among socioeconomic status, state policy context, and the pathways traversed by Latina/o STEM degree holders, particularly with respect to associate degree attainment and attendance at Hispanic-serving institutions. Second, this study finds that among Latina/o STEM bachelor's degree holders, three college financing strategies were employed (self support, parental support, and balanced support), and that these strategies were associated with certain institutional pathways. Third, this study finds that low and high levels of indebtedness as measured relative to average borrowing at the B.S.-degree granting institution negatively affected graduate school attendance among Latina/o STEM bachelor's degree holders, with the magnitude of the negative effect larger for those who borrowed at relatively high levels.

ACCUMULATING (DIS)ADVANTAGE?
INSTITUTIONAL AND FINANCIAL AID PATHWAYS
OF LATINO STEM BACCALAUREATES
by
Lindsey Ellen Malcom
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(EDUCATION)
August 2008
Copyright 2008 Lindsey Ellen Malcom